How to Sell Your Home with a Leased Solar System

We’ve noticed some recent conversation in the news about the process of selling a home with a leased solar system, and wanted to provide some clarification on how transferring a solar agreement is accomplished here at Sunrun. As most solar agreements last 20 years, it’s not uncommon for our customers to think about what happens when they sell their home.

Sunrun has a team dedicated to transferring Sunrun agreements from home sellers to home buyers. When a customer informs Sunrun that they’re preparing to move, we assign a dedicated Service Transfer Specialist to the seller. The Specialist is familiar with the unique qualities of the customer’s specific solar agreement, and acts as an agent, advocate, and educator on the customer’s behalf, interacting with potential buyers, realtors, escrow officers, title agents, and anyone else that would like to know more about the value of home solar.

As Supervisor of the group I’m a little biased, but Sunrun’s Service Transfer Team provides a level of support that you won’t get from other solar companies. Since its inception, the team has successfully transferred agreements for more than 1,500 of our customers. In June 2014 alone, Sunrun transferred 108 solar agreements, and our customers have been extremely satisfied with our service.

We know that buying or selling a home can be a complicated process. That’s why our aim is to make any solar service transfer as uncomplicated and hassle-free as possible. To that end, here are some tips if you’re preparing to sell your home:

Contact Sunrun’s Service Transfer team before your home goes on the market. This gives us plenty of time to introduce ourselves to your realtor and provide you with educational materials about the benefits of solar for prospective buyers. It’s crucial that your realtor is as informed as you are about the value of solar.

After educating potential buyers and realtors about the benefits of solar, let them know that transferring the solar agreement is a contingency of the home sale. By being upfront about the agreement, you’ll avoid possible hiccups during negotiations.

If you, your realtor, potential buyers, escrow officers, or anyone else has a question about solar, we’d love to hear from you. Never hesitate to give us a call at 888.478.6786 x2 or email us at servicetransfers@sunrun.com. You can also find more information about transferring your agreement on our service transfer resource page and on the customer website.